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More B-Head Test Pics

2K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  WildAntlers 
#1 ·
This idn't from my test so I couldn't control any variable into it but it does incorporate some of the more popular broadheads of today. It was ONLY a penetration/durability test. I know it's plywood and most of us don't hunt plywood...but it shows you a great deal of things when you have arrows weighing the same, shot out of the same bow, with only different broadheads in the front.

This was a test done at my local archery store last year. They put it back on display a few weeks ago and I went to take a few pics of it.



 
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#3 ·
I apologize for the clarity of my pictures. My camera idn't made for that kind of stuff but I will try to explain a little here as to what they done.

They took and made this arrow stopper. Taking your ordinary 2 pieces of plywood and spacing them apart. You have the initial piece on the front...then the gap...and the piece on the back. More the less making a box with no sides on it so you can see inside.

The bow was a Mathews Ultra 2 @ 28.5 inch draw. I think the draw weight was 65 pounds. The arrows are Carbon Impact 6500s. I believe the distance was 20 yds. All the arrows weighed around 390 grains but some were heavier due to 125 grn heads. They tried to be fair and shot groups of arrows...say two fixed 125s and two mechanical 125s and so forth with the 100s and 90s.

If you look at the pic that shows the fletchin...you will see that only two broadheads didn't make it through the first sheet of plywood. Those two were different model heads from the same company. They are Steel Force broadheads. I believe one of them was the Hellfire and the other a Sabertooth. Somebody might could correct me on the model used. I should have wrote them all down but I didn't.

The pic that shows the inside of the box is really a humbling one. As you can see there is a mix between mechanicals and fixed bladed broadheads.

Two of them are NAP Broadhead products. You have the Spitfire and the Thunderhead. You can see the Thunderhead there if you know what they look like. It made it through the 1st sheet and the tip stuck into the second one up to the start of the blades. So not really far. BUT...it fared way better than the Spitfire. You can barely see if back there. I only recognize it because I looked at it close in person. It is the 2nd arrow under the Thunderhead in the pic. You can see the blades sticking out funny. It made it through the 1st sheet BUT it sheered off one of the blades and the tip came to rest against the 2nd sheet but the blades on it were all messed up.

Rocket Aeroheads had the mechanicals that penetrated the furtherest. I'm not sure of all of them used here but I know one of them is the 90 grn Slammerhead and a 100 grn Steelhead. Both of them drove up to the blades with the tips sticking out the other side of the 2nd sheet.

Of the fixed head models, the two that done the best are the Rocky Mountain Ironhead 125 and the Muzzy 100. Both made it through the 1st sheet and into the 2nd sheet up to about middle of the blades.

That said. There are a bunch of broadheads out there now that weren't tested and some of them are the more popular models today. I would like to see a test were most all of them were used. But I ain't gonna do one because these lil varmints are expensive.
 
#6 ·
Personally, I see real problems with tests like this. It might be a good test for durability, but in my opinion it is a very poor test for penetration. Penetration on a live animal is dependent on much different factors. With the plywood, there is tremendous friction. With live flesh, there is much less friction. Penetration depends more on things like blade sharpness, diameter of cut, angle on blades, angle of the hit, the direction of the momentum in relation to where the tip is pointed, and it's ability to break a hard bone. Once the bone is broken, the friction is once again, much lower than with plywood.

With wood, the fibers are elastic and bounce back to the hole center. It is dry, non-lubricated and inconsistant. A larger diameter ferrule will cause less friction from the plywood on the arrow itself. Plywood contains layers, middle layers often contain voids or much harder knots, or even different types of wood. Just the same, even if the plywood was perfect, I think it is a very poor medium to test penetration on a broadhead designed to penetrate a live animal. Just an opinion...
 
#7 ·
I agree SteveR, it idn't a 100% simulated test but it is fun to look at :D

The Montec blades were not tested. The owners of the store just used a model of each head they had on the shelf of their store @ the time. I will have to go back up there to jot down the names of all the broadheads tested. It wont be any time soon though...the store is a good hours drive from my house and I don't get up there often.

There were several broadheads that weren't tested that I feel should have been. No doubt. I would have liked to have seen the Rocky Mountain TI-100 or Advantage tested. As well as the Snyper. And the 100 grn Thunderhead & 100 grn 3 blade Muzzy was left out too.

But as for what was tested...the winners were:

Mechanical Dept =

1. Rocket Slammerhead
2. Rocket Steelhead

Fixed Dept =

Tie between Muzzy 4 bladed 100 and Rocky Mountain Ironhead 125

The store owners said the mechanicals out penetrated the fixed blades and all that. But to me it looks like they all made it about the same out of those 4.

The worse were definatly the Steelforce. Having not made it through the 1st sheet.
 
#8 ·
I did the same thing a few weeks ago. After doing the 1/2 inch plywood, I went to 3/4 inch to se what was really durable and would penetrate. Try that, and you will see a big difference in what heads will stay together and the ones that want. The
Rockets did very well on both stages
 
#10 ·
stever if you read hhis first thread he made that statement that he knows it isn;t a true test except for durability maybe you forgot what he said. as for the the penetratin i knew which would win they always do. as for penetration that is a test that only you can make whe your out hunting and whether you shoot fixed or mechanicals you will ifnd that different situations will create different outcomes when it comes to penetration and those of us that have hunted for a long time understand that. it was a good test but yes very expensive and that;s why people who own shops can sneak that by now and then lol. interesting set up but did show i am sure what you wanted to see. it seems everyday that someone is making a new broadheadthat is making it;s way in the broadhead market and i guess they will continue to make new ones until they have so many out there you will need a trunk to carry all of them that you test
rob k
 
#11 ·
stever if you read hhis first thread he made that statement that he knows it isn;t a true test except for durability maybe you forgot what he said.

I am not sure where you are reading that. This is the quote from his post.

It was ONLY a penetration/durability test.
and....

it shows you a great deal of things when you have arrows weighing the same, shot out of the same bow, with only different broadheads in the front.

I was only disagreeing with the penetration portion of his statement. Comparing penetration through different media is like comparing coconuts to pineapples. Let me give you an example. Do you think the winners would be same if the test was through a large bag of Jello? How about if it was a large box of raisins or a big bag of popcorn? Can you envision a head doing poorly in plywood, that would rate high in popcorn? By the way, I think the popcorn test would be far more comparable to live flesh, then plywood. Especially, if it's heavily buttered. :p

My point is, different media will require a head with different characteristics to do well. For instance, a mechanical will open very easily when it hits a plywood board. How about if it hits a bag of jello? Would it open at all? A head that penetrates very well in one medium, may not do well at all in another. This is why I don't take much stock in penetration tests where they use plywood or concret blocks, or 20 layers of carpet or even thick styrofoam. A live deer is nothing like any of those. In fact, it's more like the bag of warm jello.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the results and the pics. It pretty much confirms what I have found from my tests. The steelforce heads don't do as well becuase of the "collar" at the back of the ferule. It digs in and stops them cold. The spitfires open more slowly than most other mechanicals so the blades are only part way open when they push throught the wood, that would explain the problem with the the blades. Thanks again and job well done.
 
#13 ·
Rocket Powered!!!

I've been shooting the Rocket Steelhead this year and have been impressed....Now to see how it works on the real deal!!! Good info!!!
 
#14 ·
Doesn't this test give an advantage to smaller diameter b'heads like muzzys or maybe the Steelhead 100. Such heads may zip through plywood or even flesh and bone, but they also don't do as much cutting as say a big Snuffer or Steelforce. Other than for very large game where 2-blade or small diameter heads are needed to ensure adequate penetration, I prefer a larger broadhead that should cause more hemoraging and produce a quick kill.
 
#15 ·
Good job

CT thanks for sharing. If some are more concerned with the penetration aspects so be it. I think this study showed more on the line of durability and without that you may not get good penetration. I think just sharing this type of info is awesome, I mean my blades didn't appear to be tested but big whoop.
Once again CT good on ya!:D
Out for now
 
#16 ·
SteveR said:
I am not sure where you are reading that. This is the quote from his post.



and....




I was only disagreeing with the penetration portion of his statement. Comparing penetration through different media is like comparing coconuts to pineapples. Let me give you an example. Do you think the winners would be same if the test was through a large bag of Jello? How about if it was a large box of raisins or a big bag of popcorn? Can you envision a head doing poorly in plywood, that would rate high in popcorn? By the way, I think the popcorn test would be far more comparable to live flesh, then plywood. Especially, if it's heavily buttered. :p

My point is, different media will require a head with different characteristics to do well. For instance, a mechanical will open very easily when it hits a plywood board. How about if it hits a bag of jello? Would it open at all? A head that penetrates very well in one medium, may not do well at all in another. This is why I don't take much stock in penetration tests where they use plywood or concret blocks, or 20 layers of carpet or even thick styrofoam. A live deer is nothing like any of those. In fact, it's more like the bag of warm jello.
y9ou make some good points but the test was rteally to see how much penetration and how well the head stood up to the test. i would also suggeat that if your wanting to do some really good test with excellent results then you would have to figure out consistancy then would be to take some hide and wrap it around something that would denote consitancy of the inner works of the animal and shoot them with the broadheads your wanting to test.i have done some testing with skin and a bucket and sand in the bucket and shot several different bh's and was happy to see what i thought was true and that is why i shoot rocket steelheads. the idea behind that is to give you a penetration and also to check if the steelheads would open from skin to to going on inside the plastic though not as good i guess as having an animal to shoot to test it does let you know if the broadhead is doing its job properly. io found that the tests i did were good for several broadheads but he rocket steelhead still out performed the other broadehads which included the muzzy and the thunderhead and the snyper. and the rocket penetrated best and opened with no problems and full oppen at impact. now these aren;t scientific results but just personal testing and that was my outcome. and i have not looked back. thry that test and see if you can determine for you the kind of results you thought youwould get. by the way it does get expensive lol. the test was done at 63 lbs 370 grain arrow at 29 inch draw
rob k
rob k
 
#17 ·
deflex -- I would agree with your statement about the test favoring the small diameter broadheads...if it weren't for the one that out did them all being a 1" 3/4 cutting diameter. That is a big cut regardless. You can see that arrow/broadhead in the picture...it's the very bottom one. The broadhead drove into the 2nd piece up to the insert of the arrow shaft itself with all 3 blades intact.

You all wait til late Sept & October. I hope to give ya'all some real good pictures of some real-in-the-field broadhead tests :) Upclose with gore.
 
#18 ·
Yeah well...

Over my years of bowhunting I go out of my way to avoid shooting anything made of wood....LOL....But sometimes it happens...Though not on purpose....I do know that 100gr. Muzzy's stick in a Walnut Tree really well, right after they just blew over the back of a 140class 8pt....Though at 10 yards they didnt do much of anything to another 140 class 8pts. front shoulder...Anyway, I can believe the pics of the Stellforce heads...I shot the 100gr Saber's last year & they WONT be in my quiver this year....Everyone around here raves about em but I dont like em at all....I shot a button buck at 28yds last year with my 70lbs draw PSE DURANGO & was not impressed at all with the performance of the head.....shot him through both lungs, never hit anything as far as a real bone goes & didnt get a pass through...the little dude ran like 250yds & didnt bleed 2ozs. the whole time....I'll be shooting Rocky Mountain Snyper's this year, I've heard great things about these heads plus they are supposed to fly awesome...I havent shot mine yet, Cabela's just sent em the other day....Guess we'll find out soon.....
 
#19 ·
I have shot some odd things with old broadheads....My favorite is the Wasp JackHammer 100. I shot it into and through 2 layers of 3/4 inch with no damage at all. I did the same with Thunderheads...broken blades and bent furrel.
But, CAN THEY FLY STRAIGHT?
 
#20 ·
Not to stir up a bees nest but the plywood test is not a fair test.

If any of you work with wood on a regular basis you know that the majority of all wood types are not consistant in hardness througout itself, especially plywood. A good simple example of this is when you are cutting a piece of plywood with a circular saw... You are cutting along and you hit a softer spot in the wood allowing the saw to lunge forward. You then come back into the harder wood and the saw slows down. Even with the cross-grain laminating process of plywood you will always have softer spots in the wood.

Finding the softer part is even easier with a solid piece of wood.
ie: the lighter colored grain of the wood is always softer than the darker colored portion unless you get into some of the high-end exotics.

In short, the plywood test is not consistant enough for an "Apples to Apples" test - Some of the arrows may hit a softer portion of the wood than the others. IMHO a better testing material would be more like: Multiple pieces of foam core board glued together (8" to 12" thick) or a piece of dense rubber sheeting.

I would be very interested to see how this broadhead test would turn out using a more consistantly dense material.

Something to think about.
Thanks!!
 
#21 ·
How about a box of oranges or apples.
Avalible cheep in some parts of the country.
The arrow/broadhead would need to pass through two layers of cardboard, then 18" to 20" of fruit, probably fifteen to twenty orange rinds, wet fibours centers, then two more layers of cardboard. A lot closer to live meat than plywood.
If you live in an area that grows lots of fruit, packing houses have lots of #2 stuff that they sell real cheap, maby $4 a box. Two boxs, end to end would give over thirtysix inches of penatration test and cost less than one sheet of plywood.
 
#22 ·
WildAntlers said:
Not to stir up a bees nest but the plywood test is not a fair test.

If any of you work with wood on a regular basis you know that the majority of all wood types are not consistant in hardness througout itself, especially plywood. A good simple example of this is when you are cutting a piece of plywood with a circular saw... You are cutting along and you hit a softer spot in the wood allowing the saw to lunge forward. You then come back into the harder wood and the saw slows down. Even with the cross-grain laminating process of plywood you will always have softer spots in the wood.

Finding the softer part is even easier with a solid piece of wood.
ie: the lighter colored grain of the wood is always softer than the darker colored portion unless you get into some of the high-end exotics.

In short, the plywood test is not consistant enough for an "Apples to Apples" test - Some of the arrows may hit a softer portion of the wood than the others. IMHO a better testing material would be more like: Multiple pieces of foam core board glued together (8" to 12" thick) or a piece of dense rubber sheeting.

I would be very interested to see how this broadhead test would turn out using a more consistantly dense material.

Something to think about.
Thanks!!
Go to www.american-hunter.com and check out 5-shot's test.:)
 
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